Risk benifit masectomy v BCT (breast conservation strategy)
One viewpoint from Australia... fear and evidence ...
See also other posts on this site looking a overall breast health density ..............(click on search above on purple bar to access search engine)
RB
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1639050.htm
ABSTRACT
PETER CAVE: A visiting American breast cancer doctor says too many women are needlessly having radical breast surgery, thinking they'll have a better chance of survival.
Dr Monica Morrow, a breast cancer specialist from the Fox Chase Centre in Philadelphia, says survival rates for women who opt to have cancerous lumps removed in conjunction with follow-up radiation have the same life expectancy as those who choose to have a complete mastectomy.
The National Breast Cancer Centre, however, urges caution, saying that while the incidence of mastectomies in rural Australia is higher than in cities, women in the bush face more hurdles.
Sabra Lane reports.
SABRA LANE: One in 11 Australian women will get breast cancer in their lifetime.
According to the most recent statistics on breast cancer, 12,000 women were diagnosed with it in 2001, 2,500 of them died from it.
In Australia, a large portion of early stage breast cancer patients, about 40 per cent of them, still opt to have their breasts removed, instead of just having what's termed "breast conservation", where lumps are cut out in conjunction with follow-up radiotherapy.
Dr Monica Morrow, a specialist breast cancer surgeon from the Fox Chase Cancer Centre in the United States, says a mastectomy for a good portion of these patients is unwarranted.
Threaded Mode